Senate Speaker sums up work done, maps out next-year plans
"The Parliament passed 80 laws during the year. Around 30 of the laws passed are aimed at implementing the instructions of the Leader of the Nation. It should be mentioned that the senators comprehensively and thoroughly considered most of the laws in a very short time and made many essential amendments," Qasym-Jomart Toqayev said in the follow-up of the last plenary session of this year.
The speaker added that the senators have lodged more than 100 parliamentary inquiries on major issues of society to the Government. This year, alongside lawmaking, the Chamber also focused on to other types of parliamentary activities.
"We have held a number of crucial events on topical matters, including parliamentary hearings, which are an effective form of control by the legislative branch of power. According to the results of the four parliamentary hearings, for the executive bodies [we] have made specific recommendations, the implementation of which is constantly monitored by the committees," Qasym-Jomart Toqayev informed.
The Senate Chairman also added that the Chamber has held a number of large-scale substantive events as part of its international activities.
"Particular attention was given to the deepening of bilateral and multilateral parliamentary ties with foreign countries. Surely, the international meetings [we] held made a considerable contribution to the promotion of the foreign policy initiatives of our country," Qasym-Jomart Toqayev underlined.
The head of the Senate also added that in the upcoming 2019, the upper house will have a challenging work that will require a systematic approach.
"In general, at the beginning of the next year, the Parliament will work on more than 50 bills. 10 of them are already in the Senate. These bills are expected to be considered in January and February," concluded Qasym-Jomart Toqayev.